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A two-month-old baby boy, under the care of Shishu Gruha in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur district, died on the night of October 2, allegedly because of staff negligence. However, the authorities have denied such claims, stating that the infant passed away due to ill health.
Reports suggest that the baby died due to the staff’s internal quarrels over duty allocations and that they failed to feed him, causing the boy to starve. However, the officials in charge have stated that the child was underweight and suffering from health problems for the past few days.
According to ICDS project director Nagamani, the child care centre currently operates with only four staff members.
One of them stopped coming to duty since September 30 after a dispute with others. Since it was Dasara, another staff member requested leave, leaving only two employees, one on a day shift and the other working night shift.
Nagamani told Siasat.com that the child was admitted to Shishu Gruha on August 30, weighing under 2 kgs. “On October 1, the baby suffered diarrhoea and was rushed to the government general hospital (GGH). The hospital prescribed a syrup for 14 days. However, the following day, the baby suffered from diarrhoea and was rushed back to the GGH at midnight. He was declared dead by the doctors,” she said.
The final rites of the baby were carried out on October 3. According to a few local reports, it was done to “cover up” the negligence.
When Siasat.com tried to clarify the accusation, Nagamani asserted the rites were performed after duly informing concerned officials.
The Anantapur collector and Women and Child Welfare Minister Gummidi Sandhya Rani have expressed concern over the incident and called for an enquiry into the matter.
This post was last modified on October 5, 2025 4:39 pm